My parents raised me in Marks, MS, a
small agricultural town in the Northwest MS Delta region. I grew up on a cotton and soybean farm,
Aldridge Farms, established by my dad and grandfather.

Childhood Hobbies and Work

Tonka toys, tractors, and GI Joes were some of my favorite toys as a youngster. I liked to play outside and in the dirt whenever possible. As I grew, chemistry and electronics
sets, plastic models, and erector sets took the place of my earlier toys. I also rode a bicycle all that I could. We were fortunate to have a large front yard, so,
each Sunday after church, our friends in the community would come over for a baseball or football game. I started fishing in
High School.

There was always work to be done on the farm, so, I always had a part or full time job whether I wanted one or not.
Driving a tractor - usually clearing field drainage ditches and mowing turn rows - and chopping cotton were my Summer jobs from
9 years old on. Its was always hard work, however, I have fond memories of the farm to this day. I am proud that my
dad and grandfather taught me the importance of work. A family friend, Mr. Jimmy Lee, offered me a job at his supermarket for part-time and after school work during High School. I was a
stocker for a while and then I was transfered into the Meat market. Working in the meat market was a very enjoyable
job for me; they wouldn't let me near the meat saw, though. :)

Church and Religion

Church was the place to be for me and my family on Sunday. In Marks, we attended West Marks Baptist Church, a Southern-Baptist
affiliated baptist church that was founded by my grandparents and a handful of other charter members. I became a Christian and
a member of the church when I was nine. I met many of my friends through Church. It really doesn't take alot of
insight to figure out who is responsible for this universe and all mankind. The explanation is given freely to all of
us in the Holy Bible.

Education

I attended high school at Delta Academy in Marks. After high school,
I attended Northwest Mississippi Junior College in Senatobia, MS. I completed the
pre-Engineering program there. After Northwest, I attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. I had
plans to go to Mississippi State, but, I received a scholarship to Ole Miss instead. While at Ole Miss, I was a member of both
the Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu engineering honor societies. In 1987, I graduated Cum Laude from Ole Miss with
a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree.

Around 2005, I began taking Horticulture classes at Nashville State Community College to increase my knowledge of plants and the plant business. Before leaving Nashville in 2009, I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Nashville State with a Technical Certificate in Horticulture.

Career

Before I graduated from Ole Miss, I accepted a job as Reliability
Engineer with Texas Instruments' Defense Systems and Electronic Group located
in McKinney, TX. Our factory produced Terrain Following Radar systems for
domestic and foreign jet fighter planes. I was responsible for circuit to system reliability analysis,
Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) prediction, and reliability testing. I also
worked briefly as Test Engineer for the Avionics Microwave Test Facility (AMTF), as Quality Assurance Engineer for NavAttack programs and as Procurement
Assurance Engineer for the ISAR program. I worked on the following radar programs:

APQ-122

APQ-126/158

APQ-171

MRCA

APQ-172

Lantirn

ISAR

After developing software to test microwave components in the AMTF, I decided that
I would like to search for a full time software development job. I got my chance when
I applied for and accepted a job as Test Engineer with Texas Instruments' Digital Light
Processing (DLP) division. At this job, my primary responsibility was to
develop software to test the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), a micro-electromechanical
device used in the production of digital projectors. While at DLP, I helped to design the
Tilt Angle Measurement System (TAMS), a DMD production tester used to confirm mirror tilt, reflectivity, and
contrast ratio. I also developed the software used in the final visual acceptance test of the DMD.

In 1998, I was fortunate to leave Dallas for Nashville, TN. I accepted a job as an internet software developer for LifeWay Christian Resources. While at LifeWay, I was responsible for the development and support of LifeWay's ECommerce sites: lifewaystores.com and lifeway.com. Times were great for many years at LifeWay. I worked flexible hours developing software with current technologies and worked for great, supportive managers.

In May 2007, I accepted a software developer position with Passport Health Communications in
Franklin, TN. My main duties involved the design and development of software for Passport's OneSource and Intellisource products. I left Passport in late 2009.

In October 2009, I was fortunate to relocate to Tupelo, MS, accepting an Internet Systems Development Specialist position with Ashley Furniture Industries in Verona, MS. My primary responsibilities include the development and support of Ashley's replacement parts and blocking applications.